CBI custody for law board chief caught taking bribe

New Delhi, Nov 25 (IANS) Company Law Board (CLB) acting chief R. Vasudevan, who was caught red handed while allegedly accepting a bribe of Rs.700,000, is now in six-day Central Bureau of Investigation (CBI) custody. He is being questioned to establish if he had any associates, the bureau spokesperson said. On Tuesday, Vasudevan was nabbed at his Safdarjung Enclave home while allegedly accepting the bribe to favour one of two feuding factions of a media house. The Company Law Board settles commercial disputes.

“He was caught and there was a judicial hearing at 3 p.m. We were granted six-day CBI custody for questioning him,” CBI spokesperson Harsh Behl told IANS.

He added: “He is being questioned and investigations are on. We are trying to establish if more people were involved in this. It is still too premature to say what action could be taken.”

Behl said the investigating agency had acted on a tip-off by a CBI source.

Apart from Vasudevan, who is acting CLB chairman since Nov 2, two others are under the CBI scanner — Manoj Banthia, company secretary of the media house Amar Ujala, who allegedly offered the bribe to “settle the case in favour of the daily’s management”, and Ankit Chawla, a lawyer who purportedly arranged the Rs.1 million bribery deal. The CBI conducted raids and found Rs.300,00 in Banthia’s possession.

Chawla, who was out of the country for two days, has expressed ignorance about the bribery but has reportedly said he will cooperate with investigations.

The CBI has registered a case against the three under the Prevention of Corruption Act.